MAINE PUBLIC • April 14, 2023
The odyssey of the $1 billion transmission project through western Maine has been playing out in painstaking detail this week during a jury trial that could determine whether the project is ever completed. The trial has major implications for the New England power grid as well as Massachusetts’ and other states’ abilities to meet ambitious climate goals. But those implications could extend far beyond our region. The trial is being closely watched by the U.S. and international energy industry because it could foreshadow future conflicts over transmission projects. There’s a push to rapidly expand transmission line capacity to accommodate the electrification of houses, cars and heating systems. But siting new transmission lines is rarely easy because of NIMBY opposition and challenges from competing energy companies.